VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Transport and Information and Public Relations Perni Venkataramaiah Nani escaped unhurt after a man tried to attack him with a trowel at his residence in Machilipatnam on Sunday morning. The attacker, who is a mason, tried to assault the minister twice, but was overpowered by the latter’s gunmen and handed to the police.
The attacker, Badugu Nageswara Rao, from Godugupet village of Machilipatnam mandal, was inebriated.
A large number of people came to Machilipatnam from nearby villages to attend a memorial ceremony for Nani’s mother, who passed away recently, and as the minister was coming out of his residence, Nageswara Rao approached him and bent down to prostrate himself before the minister. However, he suddenly took out a trowel and tried to attack the minister. “In the first attempt, the weapon brushed by belt buckle. He then tried again, but I escaped. My gunmen and other staff caught him,” Nani said.
The minister added that he had seen the attacker earlier on a couple of occasions during party-related functions, and was not aware of the reason behind the attack. “I am clueless as to why he tried to attack me. I do not have any enmity with anyone politically and personally,” Nani said.
Krishna Superintendent of Police M Ravindranath Babu said that during questioning, Nageswara Rao said he was inebriated and was not aware of what he did. “However, we are also examining the angle of political rivalry behind the attack,” Ravindranath Babu said, and added that the minister’s security has been beefed up.
In the evening, Director General of Police Gautam Sawang and Home Minister M Sucharitha went to Nani’s residence and enquired about the attack. Sucharitha later said that though the investigation is in a preliminary stage, it has come to light that the attacker is a TDP sympathiser and had worked as its polling booth agent.
A few months ago, Nani’s close associate Moka Bhaskar was murdered in broad daylight, allegedly by his political rival Chintha Chinni, a close aide of TDP leader and minister in the previous N Chandrababu Naidu government, Kollu Ravindra. Ravindra was arrested and later let off on bail. A case has been registered against the accused, and the police are questioning him. It is learnt that his brother is local TDP leader Badugu Umadevi.